The SkullFaerie Christmas Diaries
by SkullFaerie
Summary: Alto/Sheryl Christmas cheers lovingly brought to you by Skullfaerie.
1. Memories

This fanfic was inspired by this picture:

(http:// i22. photobucket. com/ albums/ b301/ steshin/ ARUSHERI/ sa_deep embrace. jpg) To view the image, simply copy and paste to your URL thingy and delete spaces. The theme used in this story is **The lights are on**. This is also inspired by the song **I'll be home for Christmas **sung by Buble.

**Contributed by steshin**

***

Alto did not celebrate Christmas. His family never touched it and brushed it off as a folly holiday. Back then when he was younger and adored as a young girl, he would look at families pressing close as they walked along in their Christmas shopping while the artificial snow rained gently on them. They would glow a kind of joy that made Alto awe in wonder as his father dragged him away to pick out a yukata.

But even at a distance, Alto was still basking in their warmth.

***

Miyo would always try to ease Alto's childhood restlessness in her own little ways. On the porch of their home, they would make origami designs and demolish rice cakes with hums and laughter. She would ease his head on her lap and she would comb his hair with her fingers.  
Alto would be lulled to sleep by her whispering lullabies and, even though his father didn't approve of it, Christmas carols about reindeers, snowmen and a little drummer boy… It was comforting and it gave Alto a sense of happiness. For in their own little way, they were celebrating their own holiday that was more intimate than Christmas. Unfortunately, when Miyo died, so did the celebrations.

Alto would feel empty sitting on the porch.

***

As the snow muffled the sound of his steps, Alto looked about the glowing surroundings in indifference. In less than half a year, the relocation was halfway done. When winter came upon them, the area became blanketed with natural snow. Today was the first Christmas of their new home. For those who preferred to avoid the cold, the former islands would serve their purpose of keeping warm. Alto exhaled and watched his visible breath. Amidst the cheers and smiles of the people, he felt hollow and he knew why. He would always miss his mother and the nostalgia of the holiday spirits rekindled the memories of long ago, making him feel like the little boy, sitting on the porch, watching the world celebrate an event that brought so much joy.

_"Christmas casts such a beautiful light onto the world, don't you agree Alto?"_

He shrugged his late mother's words from his mind; the memory of her smile pricked his heart. Feeling as though he was carrying the world on his shoulders, Alto sloshed through the snow for his destination.

December would bring bittersweet memories.

Sweet memories turned bitter.

***

It was a modest place with what he could afford. It had windows and doors, nothing leaked and it served its purpose well. It wasn't that big but it was his home. No—their home.

A smile touched his lips as he fished for his keys. A cold wind blew on his back, as if prodding him to get inside fast, which he did.

The moment he came inside, his eyes widened and his jaw slacked.  
Small dots of golden light stringed in green blinked and glimmered in greeting to his arrival. Holly and glittering Christmas décor covered almost every inch of the small cramped area.  
In the middle was a Christmas tree, decorated splendidly yet awkwardly. One side of the tree had more ornaments than the other, some were close to falling off from the boughs and the star on top was crooked. But the loving touch and rushed effort was in there. Alto could see it.

His gaze dropped down to a figure curled underneath the tree. She was balled up in bundles of blankets and faux fur that Alto had mistaken her as part of the tree's motif. Carefully, he knelt down and peered close. The lights danced on her face. The warm fire radiated on her ivory skin. Her sweeps of eyelashes shadowed her cheekbones. It made her look softer, so devastatingly beautiful that Alto felt his heart lurch. Unexplained emotions welled up in his throat. He sat there. Watching until she opened her eyes.

"You're back? _Mou_…I haven't put your present under the tree yet."

He reached out, slipping a lock of her tresses between his fingers. He twirled it.

"I'd say you did."

He gazed into Sheryl's blue eyes. Eyes that reminded him of blue skies and sparkling seas. He watched the smile on her face. It was like a crescent moon in the sky.

_"Christmas casts such a beautiful light onto the world, don't you agree Alto?"_

After a long time since his mother's death, Alto agreed. The joy from long ago on the porch returned...only better.

So much better.


	2. Far away

**Contributed by emochinchilla**

***

Alto sighed as he stared out the window of his VF-25 as he flew around the Macross Quarter. He was ordered to deploy to some far-off system to combat a rogue Zentradi fleet, along with the rest of the SMS Fleet from the Frontier colony.

"Stupid NUNS politicians...couldn't they send their own military out to do it instead of hiring us?" He griped, opening a private channel to Skull-1.

"Now, now...it's a PR move - they want to look good and act like they're considering their soldiers by letting them spend the holidays with their families," came the voice of good ol' reliable Ozma. Alto sighed forlornly in response. "I know, I know kid - I miss Cathy too. But orders are orders, and we're soldiers - just that nobody cares about the PMCs. That's politicians and democracy for you."

The rest of their patrol continued in an uneventful silence until it was time for Chinchilla squadron to relieve them.

***

Alto flopped down on his bed, exhausted, throwing his helmet to the side as he groaned in exasperation. "Ugh...Sheryl..." He muttered, rolling over to face the ceiling as a loud beeping interrupted his moment of self-pity. He grabbed the remote on his nightstand and turned on the video-screen. Ah, the perks of being the second-highest ranked pilot on the ship!

"Hi Alto!" Came the perky voice of his girlfriend. "S-Sheryl!? What time is it over there!?" Alto asked, shocked that she'd call at this time. "Oh, 7 in the morning - it's Christmas morning!" She squealed.

Alto turned to face the calendar in disbelief, "Oh shit, it IS Christmas!" He yelled, prompting a fit of laughter from Sheryl.

"Oh God, Alto," She teased, wiping a tear from her eye, "You're so clueless it's cute." He groaned at that. Men WERE NOT cute, just like how men didn't sparkle - despite what a certain pop phenomenon claimed in the early 21st century. Damn Nanase and her trivial...well...trivia.

"I miss you." He said, suddenly. "I miss you too." Was her response, flicking her pink tresses over her shoulder. "Well, I'd better go and start cooking; everyone's going to be coming over tonight." Sheryl said, prompting Alto to try his best to keep a neutral expression.

After all, Sheryl was a disaster in the kitchen - OH GOD WHY DID HE HAVE TO BE OUT HERE ON DUTY? HE WAS GOING TO GO BACK TO SHERYL STANDING UNTOUCHED IN THE MIDDLE OF A BURNT HUSK THAT WAS HIS HOUSE. OH GOD OH GOD AHHHHHH - "ALTO!" She snapped.

"Yeah!?" He blinked, coming out of his daydream-equivalent-of-a-nightmare. "Oh, sorry - had one of those Family Guy-style fantasies."

Cue facepalm from Sheryl. "Well, I hafta go...Merry Christmas, Alto." She said, sadly.

"Merry Christmas, Sheryl..." He said quietly, as she cut the connection. He sighed and flopped back onto his pillow, a solitary tear trailing down his face.

This would've been their first Christmas together as a couple, and Alto had to spend it out here killing Zentradi.

"How poetic," He muttered bitterly, "To have to go around ending lives on the day the savior was born..."

_Fin_

***

Alternate Ending:

The next day, Alto Saotome was killed in action.


	3. Cold

**Contributed by vivitoru**

***

As far as Alto had always been concerned, Christmas was just a popular holiday whose sole reason of existence was urging people to buy gifts: an ode to consumption which, at least, had the merit to bring families together for a warm evening during this harsh winter.

And yet, in spite of his initial reluctance, his anticipation grew as the days passed and the first snowflakes fell from the real sky. Seeing the now healthy and back to business songstress happily decorating their apartment proved to be a much more enticing scene than he had expected and he soon found himself merrily joining her.

A smile graced the pilot's lips as he recalled the fond memories.

Alto couldn't deny the fun he had while they put on as much ornaments as it was humanely possible on the indigenous plant they used as a Christmas tree. Even shopping, an occupation he usually loathed had been a pleasant one, regardless of the numerous of bags she had him carrying afterwards.

It must have been Sheryl's enthusiasm rubbing off on him but he now thought he could understand why she seemed so eager for the long-awaited day to come.

He shuddered as another gust of chilly wind reminded him how cold it was out there.

Yes that was the only plausible explanation for what he did. She infected him with all her Christmas craze to the point he couldn't think straight. There was no other way to justify how he ended up freezing in the street while everyone else was probably gleefully opening their presents.

It certainly wasn't how he had envisioned their first Christmas Eve together.

Once again he reached for the doorbell and hoped the galactic fairy would just let him in before he turned into a snowhime.

He knew he was fully responsible for his predicament but he still prayed to the deities to help him pacify his furious other half. They were supposed to celebrate on this special day.  
The only sound he could hear from the inside was the wondrous voice of his girlfriend covering an old Christmas theme coming through the speaker of his computer. Talk about setting the mood.

With a defeated sigh, Alto pressed his forehead against the locked door. What had he been thinking anyway?

He knew he should have gotten her a ring instead of the leather suit and whip Luca had advised him to get.


	4. The lights are on

**Contributed by forgottendiary**

***  
"_Mou_, hime, what's with that forlorn face?" Sheryl teased Alto as she tugged at his maroon pashimina scarf. "Don't forget, I turned down my New Year countdown special for this," she whispered close to his ear as they continued to walk arm-on-arm on the snow-covered cobblestones.

The blue-haired pilot briefly moved his head away with a grunt but didn't say anything. Having been through this issue many times, he knew he wouldn't win against the Galactic Fairy when it came to arguments.

Sheryl breathed in the crisp scent of the early evening's frost. It was a quiet and empty road with only bald trees and a few street lamps as their company.

"Isn't this historic? Our first New Year on this planet." Sheryl smiled contently at the thought as she leaned her head on Alto's shoulder.

So much has happened since they arrived in the spring. Slowly but gradually, the people of Frontier seemed to have moved on after being dispersed into different continents.

"Aa," Alto simply replied feeling the familiar presence of her around him.

As they turned on a corner, Sheryl swiftly eased herself out of Alto's hold and took a few hurried steps forwards. Turning on her heel, she held out a hand towards Alto.

"Ne Alto, look, the lights are on."

Behind Sheryl, Alto could clearly see the lights gracing a nearby traditional Japanese home.

Sheryl was smiling at him and he could swear he saw her cheeks turning pink under the dimming sky.

He looked at her still out-stretched hand down to her fingers where a piece of a clear and precious stone briefly shimmered.

"Let's go greet your Father a Happy New Year."

Sighing and closing his eyes in blissful defeat, he took her hand and allowed himself to be led into a place he could now call home.


End file.
